Documentaries

[Blaze]

I've always loved documentaries, but right now I'm going through a phase where it's pretty much all I watch. Anyone else here is big on documentaries? What are some of your favorites?

 

[Kean]

I love documentaries too. A couple I've watched/rewatched lately have been Forks Over Knives, The Birdegroom and Bowling for Columbine. I'm trying to free up some time to watch Happy and The Stories We Tell.

EDIT

I also forgot, The Summit, Talihina Nights (Story of Kings of Leon) and Springsteen and I.

 

[thetopher]

I like my documentaries free of hyperbole or cheap stunts...so no Micheal Moore docs here! 🙂

The Killing Time.

The Smartest Guys In The Room.

The Pity Of War.

 

[white avenger]

I like some documentaries, but you have to take a lot of their so called "facts" with a grain of salt. Here's a prime example:

http://www.hardylaw.net/Truth_About_Bowling.html

http://whatculture.com/film/5-reasons-why-bowling-for-columbine-is-not-a-real-documentary.php

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/867674/posts

Some so called "documentaries," on closer inspection, turn out to be more the advancement of someone's political agenda under the guise of bearing the truth for all to see.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

I like my documentaries free of hyperbole or cheap stunts...so no Micheal Moore docs here! 🙂

Do those exist?

Most documentaries takes a point of view, and that whole documentary is build from a point rather than actually being impartial.

I've been watching a lot of food documentaries, and one about a guy who did a road trip across America using just the kindness of strangers on craigslist.
I never remember the names, as I just click them on Netflix, hardly ever plan to watch them

 

[Blaze]

Do those exist?

Most documentaries takes a point of view, and that whole documentary is build from a point rather than actually being impartial.

I agree, you can have some semi-impartial documentaries where they show multiple side and do a really good job at it, but in the end a documentary trying to prove a point will take a stand that can be an educated choice, but not entirely impartial. It's the viewers responsibility to do more research after.

---------- Post added at 04:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:25 PM ----------

Edit: Again you can also have documentaries that are actually accurate with the fact, which could be considered a form of impartiality. WA's link shows what a documentary probably should not do if they want to remain somewhat objective.

 

[thetopher]

I think there's a difference between using facts to prove a point of view, and using stunts/distortions to prove an ideology.
I don't really consider Micheal Moore a documentary film makers. He's a political hack, that's the point I was making. (a little climsily, but there we go...)

True documentaries should strive to inform in an impartial manner, but that's rarely the intent. Just as long as you know what you're getting.

For example, I have watched quite a lot of conspiricy documentaries. I consider them high comedy. Really, unintentionally funny satire.

I also want to watch the Lance Armstrong doc, still wating for it over here. 😡

 

[white avenger]

Do those exist?

Most documentaries takes a point of view, and that whole documentary is build from a point rather than actually being impartial.

Presenting a point of view is fins as long as it is presented as such, but when statements and actions are taken out of context or staged totally in a way that is contradictory to the actual facts and then presented as hard fact, that is not documentary, it's fantasy at best and downright lies at worst.

Far too many people accept on blind faith that whatever they see in something like this is gospel fact and base their opinions on it without bothering to investigate the actual facts themselves.

 

[Bluebird]

I love documentaries! I've went through a lot of them this last year and I'd recommend Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States and everything by Adam Curtis (absolutely mesmerizing to watch). Food Inc is also a great one and The Corporation.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Some of the music documentaries are good, but they raise the question: why air all the dirty laundry in public?

Truth or Dare was about Madonna, presenting her as something of a bully.

Some Kind of Monster was about Metallica and it showed a band in utter turmoil. It ends with them righting the ship, sort of, but only if you believe that even bad publicity is good publicity, this was a bit much.

For a good music documentary, watch I'm Your Man about Leonard Cohen. Of the three I have listed, this is the only one that comes out as favourable to the subject artist.

Of course, there are musicians who maintain that This Is Spinal Tap was closer to a documentary than anything they could come up with.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

I've got a fair few documentaries on disc. Ones like Vampire Forensics and Witchcraft should be taken with a lot of salt. I have a couple about Myths and Legends which are reasonably good. There was a TV series in England that told details of the country, I bought the one 'London from the Air'. But my favourite by far is Journey into Amazing Caves, narrated by Liam Nelson music by The Moody Blues.

 

[JCoatsworth]

I love documentaries! In my opinion, the best documentary series of all time is probably David Attenborough's Planet Earth. I love animals and the quality of this series is just amazing. If you can, buy it on blu-ray.

Other nature documentaries I have are Madagascar and Blue Planet, both as well by Attenborough. But it's not like I only watch nature documentaries. I like all kinds.

Here are a bunch of others that I like:
Iron Maiden: Flight 666
Foo Fighters: Back and Forth
Sound City
Long Way Round (one of the best things I've ever watched!!!)
Long Way Down
Walking with Dinosaurs
Religulous
The Enemies of Reason
Side by Side

 

[Robb Stark]

I enjoy documentaries, 30 for 30 is a personal favorite series, but I've found that they just aren't able to give you the breadth of detail that I like to get on topics I'm interested in. As such I find that I read a lot. When I get invested in something, I usually like to pick up a book or two on it. That certainly doesn't preclude my watching documentaries, but I do find (most of the time anyways) that they can be a bit limited.

 

[white avenger]

Here's an interesting article about documentaries and objectivity.

http://therealmeganfox.wordpress.co...e-to-achieve-objectivity-in-documentary-film/

Too bad so few so-called "documentaries" don't simply present the unbiased facts and allow the viewer to form his or her own opinions.

 

[ExLibris]

I don't watch a lot of documentaries, but I love the ones by Stephen Fry. Especially Planet Word (I'm a language nerd) and The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive.

Searching For Sugar Man is also great 🙂

 

[JCoatsworth]

Here are a few documentaries that I'm quite interested in and I thought this thread is perfect for asking you guys these:

(Click to get to the imdb pages)
Blackfish (2013)
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
The Thin Blue Line (1988)
The Last Waltz (1978)
Deliver Us from Evil (2006)
The Cove (2009)
Vérités et mensonges (English title: F for Fake) (1973)

Some of them are quite dark and disturbing, I imagine, but they sound very interesting to me. As anybody watched any of these?

 

[TiMER]

Some of the music documentaries are good, but they raise the question: why air all the dirty laundry in public?

Truth or Dare was about Madonna, presenting her as something of a bully.

Some Kind of Monster was about Metallica and it showed a band in utter turmoil. It ends with them righting the ship, sort of, but only if you believe that even bad publicity is good publicity, this was a bit much.

For a good music documentary, watch I'm Your Man about Leonard Cohen. Of the three I have listed, this is the only one that comes out as favourable to the subject artist.

Of course, there are musicians who maintain that This Is Spinal Tap was closer to a documentary than anything they could come up with.

Yeah, her second music documentary 'I'm Going To Tell You a Secret' is good to watch after Truth or Dare because there is such a big difference in how she has transformed as a person. She's more nice and easy going in that one because she was a mother by the second one and you see glimpses of a breakdown in her marriage.

 

[Bluebird]

Here are a few documentaries that I'm quite interested in and I thought this thread is perfect for asking you guys these:

(Click to get to the imdb pages)
Blackfish (2013)
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
The Thin Blue Line (1988)
The Last Waltz (1978)
Deliver Us from Evil (2006)
The Cove (2009)
Vérités et mensonges (English title: F for Fake) (1973)

Some of them are quite dark and disturbing, I imagine, but they sound very interesting to me. As anybody watched any of these?

I actually watched Blackfish yesterday and I'd recommend it. Very revealing and surprisingly honest about SeaWorld being a circus for whales and how strange that is in this day and age. Quite hard to watch at times but worth it.

 

[JCoatsworth]

I recently watched Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life by David Attenborough, who has made countless excellent documentary series like, for example, Planet Earth.
It is a beautiful documentary about Darwin and the theory of evolution. One of the most interesting documentaries I've ever watched.
I'm also thinking about buying Frozen Planet. I thoroughly enjoyed Blue Planet and Planet Earth, so watching this seems like a no-brainer.